Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “adulthood” come from?

Adulthood comes from English adult, from French adulte, from Latin adultus meaning "grown up," derived from adolesco meaning "to grow up," from the prefix ad- meaning "to" and oleum meaning "oil."

adulthood (English): The state or condition of a human being once it...

Definitions

  1. The state or condition of a human being once it...

Ancestry of “adulthood”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishadultA fully grown human or animal; A person who has...
2Frenchadulteadult
3Latinadultusmagnified or piled up with for sacrifice; burned,...
4LatinadolescoI grow up, become an adult; I mature; I increase...
5Latinadoleō—
6Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
7Latinīn-—
8Latinîn—
9Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
10Proto-Italicenin
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →